REAL MADRID RESORT ISLAND RAS AL-KHAIMAH, UAE
With the FIFA World Cup coming to Qatar in 2022, and Abu Dhabi’s takeover of Manchester City FC, the sovereign wealth funds of the Middle East are taking an increased interest in the world of football. Now, the Emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah has announced the creation of Real Madrid Resort Island – a $1 billion theme park, featuring an oceanside stadium, hi-tech club museum and a five-star hotel.
A hologram show will recreate Real Madrid goals, whilst a 10,000-seat football stadium
will open on one side to a view of the sea. Sports facilities will include training pitches and swimming pools plus a yachting marina. The investment group behind the resort, the
RAK Marjan Island Football Investment Fund, are hoping its location, 45 minutes from Dubai Airport, will enable it to tap into an estimated 150 million Real Madrid fans in Asia. “The Emirates and Ras Al Khaimah is really
the gateway to the Middle East and to Asia and that’s really our target,” says Louis Armand de Rouge, a French executive on the project. “Asia is the world’s fastest growing sports market.”
Real Madrid ranked top this year in the Money
League of richest football clubs published by consultancy Deloitte, with revenues of €480 million in the 2010-2011 season. The Real Madrid Resort Island, located on
Al Marjan artificial Island in Ras-al-Khaimah, EAU, has been developed as a sports devoted island, based on the legendary story and image of the European club. Architects for the project are Paris-based J+H Boiffils. Their masterplan designs are inspired by coral forms whilst the hexagonal structure of a soccer ball has shaped the roof, according to architect Basile Boiffils.
WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM MAY / JUNE 2012 021
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